A Risk Worth Taking
by Ilya Varlamov
Summary: Can a 40 year old single mother and a college athlete have anything in common? Take a chance and find out! Key words: Baseball, college, young, younger, older Note: This is the first I will publish; please be gentle in your reviews / responses ;) Rated M for sexual content


Forty year old Anna was getting antsy waiting for baseball season to arrive. She loved hockey and the Stanley Cup playoffs were fast approaching but her team wasn't going to make it this year… _again_ … So it was time to focus on baseball. Being 3,000 miles from her teams, however, it wasn't like she'd get to see many of their games on TV.

"I wanna watch _live_ baseball," she said to herself as she sat at home and web-surfed one Saturday morning. The local short-season, minor league team wouldn't play their first game until almost the middle of June. It was only early April at this point so that didn't help right now.

Anna worked full time in a medical office and had a second (very part-time) job doing crowd management for local events. She'd worked a couple of soccer games at the University of Portland which was about a forty minute drive from her home in Sherwood. She'd really liked the campus and the people that worked there so, realizing that they had a baseball team, she decided to go to a game.

Walking up to the ticket window at Joe Etzel Field, she felt a giddiness she hadn't experienced in a while. Anna was a hard-working mom who shared custody of her sons with her former spouse. She was frequently exhausted and rarely had time alone since her father had moved in with her after losing his job over a year-and-a-half ago. Anna needed something like this… time away from the house, time alone enjoying something she truly loved. And what better place to enjoy this time than a beautiful baseball field at a gorgeous college campus. _This is my happy place_ , she thought.

Settling down into a spot on the bleachers down the third base line, she looked around and took in all the sights and sounds around her. The stands were sparsely occupied and would stay that way throughout the game. The home team, Portland Pilots, were on the field in their white pin-striped pants and purple jerseys. The opposing team wore grey pants and green jerseys and warmed up down the first base line near their bullpen. Anna looked at the roster she'd grabbed and began to familiarize herself with the players.

Anna had been single for most of the past five years since her divorce. She didn't really have time to put into a relationship and it hadn't really mattered to her either. She had dated a few times in that time span but nothing lasting longer than a couple of months. The last guy she had been with was a 26 year old local pick-up league hockey player and she had thoroughly enjoyed him. For the first time in her life, she'd discovered that there was some great sex out there to be had! She'd had good sex before and even great sex _a couple of times_ in her adult life but not before this guy had come along, had she knows it could be consistently great!

At this point in time, sitting at her first Portland Pilots baseball game, she hadn't been with anyone in several months and just about every semi-attractive male looked pretty enticing. Upon reaching age 40, and after dating someone so much younger than her, she had discovered that younger guys were looking more and more appealing. Looking back and forth between the roster and the players on the field, she smiled to herself. _These guys are all like 18-22 years old… and they look damn good in their pinstripes_!

Taking mental notes of the guys she'd like to watch over the next several weeks, she worked on memorizing names and numbers. 20, 25, 34, 35, 40… Matt, Cam, Justin, Kevin and Cody… Those are the guys to watch. Being an avid amateur sports photographer, she pulled her Canon Rebel out of her camera bag and began snapping photos of the players and their beautiful field.

Over the following seven innings, she observed and clapped and questioned the umpires officiating skills between clicks of the camera and texts from her BFF. During the seventh inning stretch, she texted her friend once more. " _So I have a favorite already lol – his name is Kevin and he's beautiful… nicest ass in the universe too_!" She snapped a photo of him on her phone and sent it to her. Lani replied " _Ooh, he's cute! Go get him, girl_!" Anna chuckled to herself then put her phone away for the bottom of the inning.

After a tough loss to the San Diego Toreros, Anna watched the guys congregate in the outfield for a quick huddle. She snapped a few more pix then put the camera away and headed home.

The following weekend, there were games on both Saturday and Sunday. Anna parked her car in the lot beside the field and headed for the gate.

"Morning!" she smiled at the guy selling tickets.

"Hey. How's it going?"

"Great! How are you?" She handed him six dollars and he handed her a purple and white ticket stub.

"Great! Thanks. Enjoy the game!"

"Thank you!" She walked up the stairs and took a left at the top, walking parallel to the third base line. The fourth row about 12 feet from the far end was her spot. She had a perfect view of home plate, the pitcher's mound, the entire field and the home bullpen. The guys were on the field doing sprints and stretching. She found the guys she'd been interested in and watched each of them for a couple of minutes. Her focus turned back to number 35, pitcher Kevin Barker. She looked at him on the roster again. _He's a sophomore so he'll be around for a couple more years, yay! He's 6'3" and weighs 215_. _He's fucking perfect_!

Just before the playing of the National Anthem, Kevin took the mound and threw some practice pitches. "My pitcher is starting today!" Anna posted on Facebook. Lani soon liked it and Anna smiled to herself. She knew she was going to have to figure out a way to talk to him without it being weird. The gears turned in her head.

It was another hard battle and the Pilots were down a run or two for most of the game. They game back to tie it up in the eighth but ended up losing in the 11th inning. This was certainly not the time to try and talk to any of the players.

Sunday afternoon, the game began at 1pm. Anna had begged her friend to go with her despite her not being a huge baseball fan. The weather was beautiful though and Lani would take the opportunity to relax and catch some rays if nothing more.

"Okay, which one's yours?" she asked as they sat in Anna's regular place.

"Number 35… right over there."

"Oh yeah, I see him. Wow, he does have a really nice ass."

"Yeah, I wasn't kidding! _He's so sexy_ ," she happily sighed.

"Okay, so we gotta figure out how you get his attention."

" _Without_ being overly obvious or weird or embarrassing him…"

"Of course! You were gonna ask him to sign that ball you found, right?" Anna nodded. "So he's coming toward the dugout and there's only like 2 other dudes down there… Go ask him."

"Really? Now?"

"Yeah! Go!" Anna did as she was told. Lani's very smart and rarely, if ever, wrong so now must be the time!

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?" he looked up at her from the dugout.

"Would you sign this for me?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" he smiled up at her. She tossed the ball and a sharpie three feet over to him.

"Wow Barker, anyone ever ask for your autograph before now?" his teammate asked him.

"Nope," he chuckled. "Pretty cool though! Can you catch this if I toss it back?"

"Probably not," she admitted.

"No worries." He got as close as he could to her and handed the items back over the short fence to her.

"Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, you got it!" She scurried back to her bestie and showed her. He and the other guys nearby started talking and after teasing him about it for a minute, moved on from his moment of "fame."

" _God, he's beautiful_ ," Anna gushed.

"Okay, so I figured out what we're gonna do… to begin with. The first thing we're gonna try is having a conversation that he can conveniently overhear."

"About?"

"You saying how much you're into him and that you're gonna post a 'missed connections' ad for him on Craig's List."

"What?! I can't say that stuff around his teammates! I don't want him to be mortified!"

"No, no, no… you won't say it's _him_ per se, but we'll drop enough hints that he should figure it out. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else next time."

"Oh… okay."

"Come on. Just follow my lead." The two girls walked down to the fence by the dugout and Lani threw something into the nearby trashcan so it didn't look like they'd gone there just for this chat. "So you can't just tell him you're into him?"

"Um… not with other guys around. I don't have any idea if he's interested at all. I don't wanna embarrass him… or myself." Lani could see Kevin out of her peripheral vision and he appeared to be at least _sort of_ listening. His other teammates had run onto the field and he was alone in the dugout but he probably wouldn't be for long.

"Well I know how much you're into him."

"He _is_ absolutely gorgeous… and I love watching him play."

"So here's what you do… you post a 'missed connections' ad on Craig's List! Post it tonight… be descriptive enough but don't like put his name or anything…"

"So like post it under Portland since that's where he is even though I live in Sherwood, right?"

"Yeah. And hopefully he'll email you. He seems nice." She glanced at and briefly smiled over at Kevin and Anna almost died, thinking she was being too obvious.

"Okay, thanks." The girls returned to their seats and Kevin thought about what he'd heard. He remembered Anna from last week as the girl with the camera. Not many spectators showed up at the games, especially ones that weren't one of the guys' friends or family members. He'd seen her pointing the camera at him a lot but hadn't thought anything of it. She was photographing everyone.

As the game went on, Kevin would inconspicuously glance up at them when he could. He caught her looking at him a couple of times. The last time he looked up at her, he smiled and she smiled back at him. After the game, the guys all went onto the field for their huddle.

Anna made the 40 minute drive home and immediately began composing her Craig's List ad. While she was busy thinking about what to write, Kevin getting dressed in the locker room. He was freshly showered and ready to head back to his dorm room for the night.

"Bakes, you wanna come over? We're gonna order subs from Jimmy John's and hang out for a while."

"Uh…" He really wanted to go home and check Craig's List out of sheer curiosity.

"Come on dude. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, okay. But I got homework; I can't stay too long."

Anna checked her email five times over the three hours after she posted her ad. It was a little after 9pm and she knew she needed to get a shower and head to bed soon. She checked once more before showering. _Nothing_ , she sighed to herself.

Kevin finally sat down in his bed with his laptop at 9:30 and google searched Craig's List. He clicked on "Missed Connections" then on the "women for men" section. He scrolled through them and clicked on a couple that had ambiguous titles that really could be meant for anyone.

"Nope… No… Is this it? No…" He scrolled down a little further and found one that stood out to him. "College Pinstripes," it read. He clicked on it and read it out loud to himself. "To the college baseball player who I can't stop thinking about. I won't list your name, initials or school name for your privacy… But I really can't stop thinking about you! You are so gorgeous and friendly and I appreciate the minute you took for me earlier today. I have no idea if you're single or if you'd be interested but if you are, I would love the opportunity to see you off the field sometime. Email me your initials and I'll know it's you!"

His heart pounded in his chest as he thought about his situation. He was single… he was, at least, curious if not interested… _Should I reply? Forget about it? What should I say? This is crazy right? Her age is listed as 40… twice my age!_ He took some time and tried to decide what to do. After copying and pasting the Craig's List email address into a Gmail message, he started his response… and deleted it… and started again. He finally decided to keep it short and sweet. "KB. Is it me?"

Anna, deciding to check her email _just once more_ before bed, opened her Yahoo account and saw the new messages she had. She had six random emails from guys that were clearly _not_ Kevin. After deleting them, a new one popped up.

"Oh my god! Is it him?!" She replied, "What's your jersey number?" Within a couple of minutes, she had a response:

"35. Did I sign something for you today?"

"Yes! You signed a ball for me." She was scared to death to send this reply. This would surely be the confirmation that she was who he thought she was. Anna was a 40 year old mom and had the body of one. Her confidence was not all that it could be and she was sure Kevin would see himself as _way_ out of her league. He probably had some gorgeous, skinny 19 year old girlfriend anyway. She took a deep breath and hit "send" anyway.

"I knew you were looking at me," he said when he saw her email. "Well… There's no shame in meeting someone for coffee or something, right?" He fidgeted with his hands while formulating his response. " _This is so crazy_ ," he whispered aloud. Before he could email her back, she sent him another message.

"I know this is probably nuts and I don't wanna pressure you or make it awkward when I come to games so if you totally wanna pretend this didn't happen, I'll get it. No hard feelings at all… I just wanted you to know I think you're absolutely gorgeous. However, if you may be some sort of interested, I'll be at Big Al's Beaverton Monday evening at 7pm bowling if you happen to be in the area. I go by myself so no pressure if you happen to be around. Good night, Kevin."

Not knowing how to respond or what to do, he decided just to put the computer away for the night. He didn't have classes past 4pm on Mondays and there was no practice that night either. He could conceivably go to the bowling alley. But what would that mean? Not knowing what she wanted from him, made him very wary. If he did show up, would that mean to her that he wanted to date her? Ugh… so much to consider.

 ****** Monday ******

Anna could hardly concentrate at work on Monday. She was more than excited at the possibility that she could see Kevin that night. If he showed up, that meant he was at least _not disinterested_ … She was also trying to brace herself for the very real possibility that he wouldn't show up. He hadn't responded to her last emails so he may have already blown her off. Her stomach was in knots. Her mouth was dry. She checked the clock every couple of minutes. She was driving herself crazy over something she currently had zero control over. Finally, when she looked at the clock on her computer for the nine hundredth time that day, it was 4:59. Close enough, she thought as she hung up her headset and logged out of her phone.

She ran home to shower and eat something before her weekly trip to the lanes. She'd been looking forward to joining a league in the fall so she figured she'd best get to practicing now. But tonight was _so much different_ than all of the other recent Monday nights. Dozens of scenarios played out in her head as she drove toward her destination. _If he doesn't show up, then none of this worry and anxiety and planning meant anything. If he does show up, however, what will I say? What will I do? Do I hug him? Shake his hand? What will he do? When it's time to go, how do I tell him I want to see him again? How can I get him naked_?

Anna got her shoes and her lane assignment down at the far end of the lanes. She liked to be off by herself away from most everyone else… especially on this night. Normally she would have a beer while she played but tonight with her nerves being what they were, she ordered a pitcher. _Hopefully I don't drink too much and make an ass of myself if he shows up_!

Kevin had tried to forget about Anna for the day and concentrate on his classes. He was used to pressure situations being a baseball player so he did a good job taking care of business. However, when the evening rolled around, she was on his mind clouding all of his thoughts. He still thought this was absolutely insane. But the more he thought about it, the more he thought maybe he was reading too much into things. _Just because she thinks I'm attractive doesn't mean she is trying to get with me. Right_?

Kevin pulled into the Big Al's parking lot and parked in the far corner where just a couple of other cars were parked. He turned off his car and just sat there for a minute giving himself a mental pep talk _. This doesn't mean anything. No big deal. If I see her and panic, I can just leave_ … The clock on his phone now read 7:40pm. He took a deep breath, left the safe anonymity of his car and headed into the bowling alley.

Kevin prowled around the outskirts of the lanes, walking as far back as possible from the bowlers. He made his way around the bar and tables in the middle of the building, looking for Anna. When he reached the back wall and could go no further, he spotted her. She held an orange 10 pound bowling ball in her right hand and steadied it with her left. Watching her approach the lane, swing the ball back then release it down the oiled floor, he noticed the lines of her body.

Was Anna the typical woman that he would check out head to toe? Absolutely not. But she wasn't just _some woman_ anymore. She had put herself out there, took a huge chance and told him that she was into him. Sure, she'd done it in a semi-safe roundabout way but she'd done it. His eyes swept over her curves and he stood back, arms crossed over his chest, and just watched her. She swallowed the last bit of Coors Light from her glass and poured the rest of the contents of the pitcher into the glass.

Anna got the sense that she was being watched but, at first, didn't bother looking around. It was now about 8 o'clock and she figured Kevin wasn't coming. He would have shown up by now. _I can't believe I thought he might show up… dork_! She chuckled at herself and picked up the ball again.

As she turned to head back to her table, she caught sight of him standing several yards away, watching her from the shadows. She stopped and stared for just a moment. _Holy fuck, he's here! What do I do_?! She only had a second to decide if she should approach him or not. She panicked and sat down facing away from him.

 _Okay_ , he thought to himself. _She's leaving it up to me. I drove here, I came inside, I let her see me… I have to go say something._ He slowly approached her as she was sipping her beer.

"Anna?" She looked up at him from her seat and her big blue eyes sparkled.

"Kevin," she smiled. "Hi." He awkwardly held his hand out to her and she shook it. _Good god, her hands are like silk_ , he thought to himself. "Have a seat."

"Thanks."

"So… do you want something to drink?"

"I'm okay. Thanks."

"Okay…"

"So…" he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah." She smiled shyly over at him and seeing that she was equally as nervous as him, he tried to relax a little. "So tell me about yourself, Kevin."

"Okay… Well, I'm from Pasadena, California. I study nursing at U of P. I love baseball obviously."

"Yeah, I figured," she giggled and he smiled. _She has a cute laugh_ , he mentally noted before going on.

"So, I see you taking our pictures all the time. What do you do with them after?"

"I have a Facebook page called The Three-Two Pitch." She picked up her phone and pulled up the page on it. "I put my U of P, Mariners, Rainiers, Hops and other baseball pictures on there. I love baseball too and I love photography so it's kind of the perfect hobby for me."

"Nice." He scrolled through a few pictures of yesterday's Pilots game. "Wow, you got some great shots! Very cool."

"Thanks. I'm studying sports management right now too. I really wanna work in sports, either in hockey or baseball."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know… scouting, player management, front office stuff? I'm not sure yet."

"Cool."

"Thanks… so you're in the nursing program. What kind of nursing do you wanna do?"

"I'm not sure yet either," he smiled. "I feel like I work well under pressure so maybe like trauma or emergency medicine or something. Or maybe some sort of surgery."

"Nice! You really do work well under pressure! In the top of the fifth yesterday when there were 2 runners on and no outs and that guy slapped one _hard_ right back at you and you forced that double play… that was awesome! You are my favorite Pilot to watch, hands down."

"Wow, thanks!"

"Welcome."

Kevin and Anna chatted for an hour or so and she let him bowl a few of her frames. The awkward nervousness had pretty much worn off and they were having fun together. When the light on her lane went out, signaling that she was done bowling, it was time to get ready to go. He returned his shoes to the check-out counter while she changed back into her sneakers. While she was putting the ball away, he grabbed the server and paid for Anna's pitcher of beer.

"You ready?" he asked when she came back.

"I gotta pay my tab first."

"I took care of it."

"What?" He smiled and nodded proudly. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I know. I wanted to."

"Well, thank you. That was really sweet of you."

"You're welcome." They walked slowly toward the exit, neither of them having any idea how they were going to part or if they were going to talk about seeing each other again. "Where are you parked?" he asked as they walked outside into the warm breeze of the night air.

"Over here… that white Ford Taurus. I like to park away from everyone else."

"Me too. I'm in the Mazda next to you."

"Great minds, huh?" she looked over at him and smiled.

"Yeah." They reached their cars and stood facing one another.

"I'm really glad you came out Kevin. I hope it wasn't too weird the way I got ahold of you… I would never have said anything in front of your teammates."

"It wasn't weird at all. I'm glad you did what you did." Sensing that he was also incredibly nervous and unsure of how to end things tonight, she moved closer and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. She pulled back and smiled at him, her cheeks flushing under the light of the streetlamp. She was fairly sure that he was at least considering kissing her goodbye and she had just enough of a beer buzz going that she decided to lean back in and see if he'd meet her halfway. She moved in and he finally gathered the courage to meet her lips with his.

Their kiss was soft and sweet at first. Soon, however, electricity spread through her body and the realization that she was _kissing the man she wanted more than any other in this world_ hit her. He felt the spark too and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. Her hands found their way over his perfect ass that had first gotten her attention from him. His tongue danced against hers and she was blindsided by her want for him.

" _I've never wanted anyone so bad in all my life_ ," she whispered as he sucked on her neck. He stopped and looked into her eyes for a second.

"Me too." Her mind raced, _how can I get him alone somewhere a lot less public_? She knew her father was at her house right now so that was not an option. She knew he lived in a dorm room with a roommate so that was not an option. _Hell, I'd pay for a motel room at this point_! "Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate to do this to you… but I gotta go. I have class super early tomorrow."

"Oh." Moment – over.

"Can you give me your phone number?"

"Yeah. Of course." He took her number and programmed it into his phone. She hid her disappointment very well despite the fact that she'd never been this sexually wound up before and she was being left hanging. "Are you around tomorrow night at all?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure yet." _I'll take that as a big fat no,_ her heart sank. "I'll text you."

"Okay." He surprised her by pulling her into one last kiss before getting into his car and driving away. " _Goddammit_!" She unlocked and climbed into her car. Pressing the back of her head into the headrest, she took a deep breath and blew it away. _I know what I'm doing as soon as I get home… me_!

Kevin laid in bed that night staring up at the dark ceiling. His roommate was snoring away on the other side of the dorm room. _Nobody's ever kissed me like she did. Of course I've never been with anyone with that much experience before either… but man she really does want me_ … The more he thought about the way her tongue felt against his and the way she'd squeezed his ass and gently scratched his back, the more aroused he became. Slipping his right hand down the front of his shorts, he gripped his cock in his strong fist. Anna had already relieved her pent up tension that night and now it was his turn.

After cleaning himself up with his tee shirt a few minutes later, he rolled onto his side and was eventually able to fall asleep.

 ****** Tuesday ******

Tuesday morning as she headed out the door to work, Anna's father reminded her that he'd be gone that night on an overnight fishing trip. _Oh my god; this is the one night I could have Kevin over! And he just left me hanging_. * _sad face_ *

She pulled into the parking lot at work and turned the car off. She usually arrived a little early then just played on her phone for a bit before going inside. She was just opening Twitter when a text message popped up over it: "Are you busy tonight?" Her response was "Who is this?" "Oh sorry! It's Kevin." _Oh my god_ , her heart skipped a beat. "Can I call you?" She replied yes and her phone soon rang.

"Hi Kevin."

"Morning Anna… so, are you busy tonight?"

"Nope… did you have something in mind?"

"I thought we could hang out somewhere."

"Can you come to Sherwood?"

"Where's that?"

"Just southwest of Tigard… it's about 40 minutes from you."

"Yeah. Where do you wanna meet?"

"I have my apartment to myself tonight… Do you wanna come over?" Her heart raced in her chest and a huge lump formed in her throat as she waited for him to answer.

"Yeah. What time?"

"Like 6 or is that too early? I don't know what your schedule is like."

"I'm done at 4. 6 is good. You wanna text me the address?"

"Yeah, I'll send you directions too. It's pretty easy to get to."

"Cool. I guess I'll see you at 6 then!"

"Okay. Bye Kevin."

"Bye Anna." She hung up and did a happy dance right there in the driver's seat of her car. He, too, was excited but also _very_ nervous.

As if Monday dragging on forever wasn't bad enough, Tuesday lasted twice as long. Kevin struggled to concentrate in his classes and Anna hardly did a damn thing at work. She did the minimum she could to at least appear busy but Kevin was all she could really think about. This could be the night she could get her fingers into those curly blonde locks of his and see his amazing body nude and touch and kiss him _everywhere_. She had emailed her bestie throughout the day about how ecstatic she was.

"I'm so nervous!"

"So have a shot or two before he shows up… this is gonna be awesome!"

"I know! I cannot wait!"

Quitting time eventually did roll around after forever and ever and one more ever. Anna raced home jumped in the shower after straightening the house up for a few minutes. She pulled on her cutest jeans and top and looked at her phone. There was a text from Kevin and she almost died. _Please don't bail, please don't bail_! "This traffic sucks but I think I'll still be there on time =)" _Oh thank god_! "Awesome!" she replied. "See you soon!"

Anna put on a little bit of makeup, brushed her teeth and did down a shot of Captain Morgan over the following twenty minutes. The apartment, while not perfect, was presentable, she looked good and she was _so ready_ to see him. She watched from her second floor balcony for him and she was beside herself with giddiness when she saw him approach.

Kevin walked slowly up the stairs leading to her apartment, having a mental pep-talk with himself the whole way. _Easy, boy… no pressure_. He finally reached her door and knocked lightly on it. She took a deep breath before opening it.

"Hey!" she smiled at him.

"Hi!"

"Come on in." She stepped aside and let him in.

"Thanks."

"I was just pouring myself a glass of wine… do you want one?"  
"You know I'm under 21, right?"

"Yeah," she chuckled.

"But I'd totally take you up on it…"

"You have to stay here at least one hour afterwards… _no_ driving with _any_ alcohol in your system. Promise?"

"I promise," he laughed and she nearly melted. She poured them each a glass and handed his to him.

"Jeez, I hope you don't think I drink every day of my life!"

"I don't think that! You're an adult; you can do whatever you want."

"I usually only have one beer at bowling… but I was nervous," she admitted. She looked down at her glass and he looked at the way her dark eyelashes stood out against her skin. His eyes swept down to her soft, full lips and for a moment, he remembered how her kiss had felt to him. She looked back up at him and caught him staring. "What?" she asked softly, bringing his gaze back up to hers.

"I was nervous too… _am_ nervous too."

"Well," she smiled and broke their nervous tension. "Here's to you…" She held up her glass and he touched his to it.

"Here's to getting to know each other." He smiled back and took a drink. "Wow, that's really good! What is it?" He downed the rest of it and set the glass down.

"Blackberry Merlot… I like that it's sweet but also dark and has a bit of a bite to it."

"Sounds like you're describing yourself," he looked into her eyes and held her captive with his stare. She set her glass down and leaned in, gently pressing her lips to his. Butterflies flooded her stomach as she took his hand and led him to her room. She shut the bedroom door behind them and turned to face him.

"I'm so nervous," she quietly admitted.

"My hands are shaking." He held up his hands and he was visibly shaking. His smile eased her apprehension. "The way you kissed me yesterday… was something I've _never_ experienced before." The mixture of alcohol in her blood and the innocent way he was presenting himself to her brought an increased confidence to her. She knew he was hers for the taking.

"Could you feel how much I want you, Kevin?" He nodded and bit his bottom lip. She pulled off his baseball hat and set it on her dresser beside them. "When I got home last night, I couldn't stop thinking about you." Pulling his shirt up and over his head, she dropped it on the floor behind her. Finally able to touch his bare flesh, she ran her fingertips over his chest.

"Did you touch yourself?" He pulled her shirt off exposing her bright pink bra. "While you thought about me?"

"Yes… I had to." He kicked his shoes off and somehow managed to get his socks off without breaking eye contact with her.

"Did you make yourself cum, Anna?"

"I did… and it was _so easy_ and _so good_ … I have _never_ been so turned on in all my life as I was after kissing you."

"Sounds like exactly how my night went when I got home." Pulling her against him, he kissed her deeply. His erection rubbed against her as he held her close and tasted her lips. Her hands slid down his strong back and under his shorts onto his perfect ass. Her nails grazed his skin and drove him insane. " _I want you, Anna_ ," he whispered as she sucked on his neck.

"I want you too, gorgeous… more than you know." She sank slowly to her knees before him, kissing his chest and abdomen on the way down. She looked up into his eyes as she slipped his shorts and boxer-briefs down his legs. He stepped out of his shorts and she tossed them aside. Running her tongue up the length of his shaft, she evoked a deep exhale from him. He watched intently as she wrapped her lips around him and sucked him in long strokes. She delicately massaged his clean-shaven testicles as she pleasured him. She looked up at him and he gazed back at her with parted lips and lust in his eyes.

" _Fuck_ ," he exhaled and closed his eyes, putting his head back. He enjoyed her for a few minutes more before stopping her. He reached down, took her hand in his and helped her up. Reaching behind her, he unhooked her bra and let the straps slip down her arms. Her body stiffened and he could read the trepidation in her body language. "Don't be shy," he said softly, cupping her face in his hands and smiling at her. She smiled back at his sweetness.

He continued kissing her as he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. She pushed them down her legs and off then stood back up to resume kissing him. They made their way onto the bed and he laid her back. He leaned over her on his left elbow and reached down between her legs with his right hand. Enjoying the response he was getting from her, he rubbed his middle finger over her most sensitive spot.

" _Tell me what you want, baby_ ," he spoke into her ear. She whimpered as he bit her neck. "You like that?"

" _Yeah_." Her breathing deepened as he worked on her. He sucked on her neck and moved his fingers against her. " _Fuck_ ," she exhaled as she gripped his hand in hers.

" _Tell me what you want_ ," he repeated.

"I want _you_ , Kevin. I wanna feel you inside me."

"You on birth control?"

"I'm 100% fixed."

"I'm clean, I swear… but I have condoms if you wanna use them."

" _I just wanna feel you_." Taking that as the green light, he rested his body down onto hers. Reaching down between them, she took his eager cock into her hand and guided him into her. He slid into her _so slowly_ , just loving the pleasure on her face. " _Oh my god_."

"You want me to go slow?"

"Yeah."

" _Kiss me, Anna_." His kiss was slow and passionate like his movements within her. Never having been so turned on in all her life, she knew she wasn't going to take long to get off. "I like the way your fingernails feel on me." Gripping his perfect ass with her nails, she pulled him deep into her over and over, friction building between them.

Finding the perfect rhythm, he let his upper body rest completely onto hers. She gently bit and sucked on his neck while listening to his exaggerated breaths. Feeling the heat begin to radiate from her core and spread throughout her body, her breathing became faster and more shallow.

" _Go Anna_." He felt her tightening around him as her nails dug into his back. " _Holy shit_ ," he panted as he dove harder and faster into her. " _You feel so amazing_."

" _Mmm, Kevin_ …" she moaned and he slammed into her, the sound of skin hitting skin filling the bedroom.

" _Can I cum inside_?"

" _Go baby_." Pushing himself as deeply inside her as physically possible, he released himself into her. He stopped moving, holding himself up with his hands on either side of her shoulders, and she could feel him pulsating as he filled her with his hot semen. Looking down into her eyes, he slowly caught his breath.

"So… Did I do okay?" He flashed a sexy smile at her.

"That was the best sex I have _ever_ had," she admitted.

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely." He smiled and kissed her before she got up to go use the bathroom. _I'm the best sex she's ever had?! That's awesome! It was pretty damn incredible_ … When she came out of her bathroom, he was smiling over at her from the bed. She gave him the once over and he patted the spot next to him.

"Come here." He rolled onto his back and she climbed over to him, resting her chest down onto his and kissing him. "Would it weird you out if I tell you I hope we get to do this again? And again and again?"

"No," she laughed.

"You have a super cute laugh."

"Thank you," she smiled and shyly looked away.

"Anna," he said to get her to look at him again. " _Kiss me_." She gladly did as requested while his hands slipped up her arms and over her bare back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How long have you been watching me for?"

"Not super long… a few weeks I guess."

"Can I ask what I did to get your attention?" She smiled at his innocent query.

"Well…" Slipping her leg over him, she positioned herself atop him. Holding herself above him on her hands, she gazed down at him and answered his question. "I first noticed what an amazing body you have… you're tall and perfectly built… and have the world's best ass," she chuckled.

"Do I?" he laughed and she nodded.

"Absolutely. Then I noticed your face… _and your lips_ ," she purred, leaning down to softly kiss him. "I knew I wanted you. I didn't know you'd be so damn good though." She grinned mischievously at him as she began to rub herself against his growing erection.

"We noticed similar things about each other then." With his hands on her hips, he pushed her back and forth against his length. "I noticed your lips too… and your eyes… and the shape of your body… _so damn sexy_." Never in a million years had she thought he'd want her as much as she wanted him. She was beyond ecstatic. "Can I go down on you?"

"You want to?" He nodded and licked his lips.

"How about next time?" She moved forward enough to allow him to enter her a second time.

"Guess I can wait an hour or so for _round three_."

Three weeks passed and Kevin and Anna got together at least once a week but usually more. She had, of course, given her best friend all of the amazing details of her time with the young stud she'd so desperately wanted for her own. He, too, had confided in his best friend about where his numerous hickies were coming from.

When it came time for him to return to his home in California for the summer, it was harder for them to part than either of them had thought it would be. While most of their time together had been spent naked in bed, they had also spent hours and hours just talking and lying together in blissful silence.

A month into his summer vacation, Kevin was able to coordinate a getaway with Anna. They spent three glorious days and nights at the Oregon coast together. While only two hours from her home, the beach felt like it was in a whole different country. They didn't hide the fact that they were there _together_. A few people stared and whispered at the "older woman" and her "boy toy" but they didn't care. They held hands out in public. They fed each other bites of their restaurant meals. They slow danced in the sand together and they kissed by the light of the sunset each night. Their time went by far too quickly and they soon had to part again. It was even harder this time.

Anna and Kevin texted daily and talked on the phone several times a week. They would have one more opportunity over the summer break to see each other. They, along with Lani and her fiancé, spent a long weekend at the coast together. They rented a beautiful house and enjoyed four days and three nights at the beach. Lani could see all of the wonderful things about Kevin that Anna had been gushing about for weeks. He was no longer just the gorgeous college boy that Anna had lusted after for weeks in the spring. He was a sweet, funny, thoughtful man that _cared about her_. Parting this time… _was awful_.

Just three and a half weeks later, Kevin returned to Portland to start his Junior year of college. Anna was ecstatic to have him back and he was equally thrilled to be able to see her as their schedules would allow. They spent as much time as possible together. This went on throughout his entire school year.

The following summer was more of the same. This time they got together for four little getaways. Lani and Dave along with Kevin's best friend and his girlfriend also went with them. They were thankful to have friends that didn't judge their relationship. Everyone around them could see that they legitimately loved one another.

A couple of months into Kevin's senior year, he and Anna sat down to have a conversation. It was one that they both knew they had to have but neither of them knew how it was going to go. They sat in her living room and discussed their future.

"So I know you'll either go back to California after you graduate or, if you get drafted, you'll be off to some other place possibly far away."

"Yeah… either one of those is possible."

"I know I'm gonna have to let you go."

"Ouch," he chuckled nervously. "I've thought about that too but man does it hurt to hear it."

"Hurts to say it too."

"So… what's most important to you here?"

"That you're happy. And that before you go, I get to spend time with you."

"Okay, so we agree on that stuff. I think we should also promise that after I graduate, if one of us meets somebody, we should tell each other. Like if you start dating someone, will you tell me? I feel like it'll be closure or something."

"Okay. That's reasonable. Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"Might sound dumb… I'll be hurt when you find someone else… but I do want you to be happy. It will just take some time to get over. Does that make sense?"

"Absolutely. I'll be hurt when you belong to someone else too. I mean, I know we haven't gotten as much time together as some couples get but we've been together for a long time now. We love each other so, yeah, it's gonna hurt when we go our separate ways. _Fortunately_ …" he leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "We have _at least_ seven or eight more months before I go anywhere." He got her to smile and he smiled back.

"You always know just what to say."

"It's because _I know you_. And you will always be in my heart no matter what… _always_."

By this time, Kevin and Anna had been seeing each other for a year and a half. Pretty much everyone but his family knew they were dating. Her kids had met him a few times as had her father. His parents knew he was seeing someone but they had never pressed him for much info on her.

This year, he spent Christmas with her. He stayed at her house even when her kids were there and they all had a blast together. At first, her 12 year old twin sons had thought it was kind of weird that she was dating someone so much younger than her. However, after spending one afternoon with him, they just thought he was super cool! He played games with them, shot hoops with them, played catch with them and they all sat down to watch a movie together. The boys were hooked on him!

Now it was two days before his graduation. He had been drafted by the Chicago White Sox and would soon start playing for their double-A affiliate team in Birmingham, Alabama. He would leave to head east in four days.

" _I love you, Anna_ ," he whispered as they laid in her bed together Saturday night around midnight.

"I love you too. I'm so proud of all you've done, Kevin." She leaned up on her elbow smiling down at him. "Your grades have been so great, you're playing like an all-star… getting _drafted_! You're an amazing man." She saw the tears forming in his eyes and her smile faded. "It's gonna be okay."

"You promise?"

"Yeah." She kissed her love into him then snuggled down into his arms.

Kevin's graduation was beautiful. Anna cried tears of overwhelming pride. He had worked so hard and sometimes she had no idea how he made so much time for her. After the ceremony, they spent one last night together. They didn't say much. They didn't have to.

Tuesday morning, she walked him to the door to say goodbye. They cried together and stood in the warmest embrace imaginable. They told each other they loved each other. And he left.

The distance between them became gradually easier to deal with. Days passed. Weeks passed. Almost four months passed. Other than short, sweet texts here and there such as "hope you're doing great," "miss you," and "sweet dreams," they didn't talk. The one time he did pick up the phone to call her was about five months after he'd left. He kept his promise to tell her when he'd met someone. The timing couldn't have been more perfect; she had been on two dates with a promising man and she wanted to tell him too.

"I'm so glad we're on the same page," he smiled into the phone. "Although I guess that's par for the course."

"I agree on both accounts!"

"Well, just because we're onto the next chapter of our lives doesn't mean we have to never speak again, right?"

"Absolutely. We can Facebook stalk the hell out of each other."

"Of course!"

"Can't wait to see pictures of your kids someday, Kevin. They're gonna be so cute!"

"Thanks," he laughed. "I can't wait to see pictures of your boys when they graduate high school in a few years! I'll be there if I'm invited."

"I'm sure you and your lovely wife will be invited."

"Awesome."

"Well…"

"Yeah…"

"I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Okay Anna. I gotta say it one last time to close our chapter… I love you… and I wish you all the happiness possible."

"I love you too. Always will. Bye Kevin."

"Bye Anna."

Kevin and Anna did not see each other again after that. They did keep in touch over Facebook and she did watch his baseball career closely. He thrived in minor league baseball but other than being called up a few times for very short stints, he did not play much in the majors. Anna had been right about his kids being beautiful… and he loved every picture she posted of her sons' high school, and later college, graduations.


End file.
